Identification
The watery fluid you're noticing while running is vaginal discharge. Discharge is used to cleanse the vagina and help your body naturally discourage infections. Vaginal discharge can vary in its consistency, color and smell. These factors are important for determining abnormalities. During exercise, you will often notice larger amounts of clear and watery discharge. If you're running before ovulating, you will notice even more fluid because the vagina produces 30 times more mucus before ovulating than it does after. During the middle of your menstrual cycle, you will notice increased fluids and clear discharge.
Abnormalities
If you're noticing a larger amount of watery discharge than usual while running, it may signify a bacterial infection. Bacterial vaginosis will cause an increase in a gray watery discharge. A fishy smell is often present. Treatment is done by oral or topical antibiotics. Other vaginal abnormalities to watch out for are yellowish green colored discharge, itching, a sore or rash in the vaginal region or a cottage-cheese like discharge. These are symptoms that can be caused by bacterial, viral or fungal infections. If abnormal conditions are left untreated they could lead to more serious problems, such as infertility or pelvic inflammatory disorder.
Correlation
Exercise, similar to sexual activity, increases blood flow to your vaginal region, but this is not the only reason for your increased watery fluids. As your running for a continuous period of time, your body releases endorphins that stimulate the release of sex hormones. Endorphin's give you the "runner's high" that makes you feel good during physical exertion. Just as the amount of vaginal secretions increase during sex, these endorphins and sex hormones would make the secretions increase while running resulting in an increase of watery fluid. "Psychology Today" reports a 1990 study showed that women's bodies respond quicker and more intense to sexual contact after exercising and the strongest reaction is 15 minutes after exercising.
Considerations
It may seem like watery discharge is being released from your vagina, when it may actually be urine from your bladder. Urinary incontinence is caused by a weakened sphincter muscle of the bladder. Stress incontinence is an uncontrollable loss of urine during activities that place pressure on your bladder, such as running. There are several underlying conditions that can result in urinary incontinence. Women that recently delivered a baby vaginally may be prone to temporary stress incontinence due to weakened muscles for bladder control. Aging, a hysterectomy, high caffeine intake and certain medications are only a few other causes. Treatment can be as simple as kegal exercises to strengthen the muscles that hold urine or as complicated as surgery.
